The
cathedral city of Winchester was the capital and burial-place of many ancient
Kings of Wessex, including King Alfred.It was Alfred who captured London from the Vikings in 886 and founded
Southwark as an English town (Suthringa
Geweorc).Winchester’s distinguished
cathedral holds the shrine of St. Swithun and the chantry chapels of several
bishops.Nearby are the substantial
remains of their mediaeval palace, built by Henry de Blois, just as Southwark
has the ruins of their London home.Hyde
Abbey on the north side of town was the last burial-place of King Alfred.The abbey’s gateway survives and some
capitals may be seen in the church of St. Bartholomew.King Henry III’s Great Hall remains from the
castle and contains a version of King Arthur’s Round Table.Winchester had originally been the Roman town
of Venta Belgarum, whose story is told
in the excellent City Museum.

I was really hoping I was going to get a chance to take some decent
photos on this run, especially with the Samsung Galaxy S6 in my pouch.
The impressive image stabilisation promised iPhone-esque levels of
clarity for snaps when running, and when we entered the Kennington Oval
cricket ground, it seemed like the perfect time.

...January, a clutch of new Tory women candidates and female journalists gathered at Baroness Jenkin’s Georgian townhouse in Kennington,
south London, to get to know each other over a buffet lunch of salmon
and potato salad. Selected to stand in safe retirement...Elizabeth Rigby